October 31, 2004
Namaste Noble HALLOWED WARRIORS!
On this most scariest eve of all...
fear not...for
Morpheus (Teacher Q) and Fernando The Aristrocratic Pirate
have melded our Matrix Mind and WF Warrior Skills to protect such Tribal
Sisters as
Lady Similyne (Teacher Ananda) from poorly produced parties,
non-SUNRIDER Halloween Treats,
and non-Industry Halloween costumes!
as we send you protective Tribal light
enjoy all the ghosts
and goblins
and most of all...
your friends and family...We Are Blessed To Be Able To Play In Such Ways!
May all beings - bodied and disembodied - be Blessed.
BOO!
love,
coach
{Shown above left to right at Coach's home: Wayne Williams the new WF.Com producer, Heather Lue and Melissa Kai HP Yogini Devotees, Teachers Ananda, feeble ilg, and Q. i hate to tell you, but i think my Owl Feathered Pumpkin
kicked ass in the Pumpkin Carving Competition...;-) photo by Marsha Williams
October 30, 2004
Dear Steve:
Your Direct Lines {10/27} took me back to our first meeting in Santa Fe. You tried to kill me on snowshoes by doing intervals at 10,000 feet. Snowshoeing has become my favorite nordic sport and if I only had one to do it would be snowshoeing. I have managed to accumulate 3 pairs of Atlas snowshoes. I do enjoy nordic skiing and am trying to master skate skiing. We have enough snow so I am going to go snowshoeing tomorrow. I am sorry to see that "little guy" is gone as I remember some very fast drives on the LA freeways. Do you still have the fast motor bike?
We will have to meet in the mountains soon.
Ai Imawa
Fit Kit
Noble Fit Kit!
How come everybody says that i am trying to "kill them" when really, i'm just givin' ya some major league WF LOVIN'!!!
indeed, "Little Guy" touched all those who had the honor experiencing his magic, go-kart restoration to the driving experience! In fact, i just got off of the 101, enjoying a zen-motorcycle slalom session on "Sukhavarti" (see link below). If Jesus had to use something gasoline powered, He'd ride my motorcycle:
021703top.jpg
As far as non-self propelled vehicles, go, it's heaven on wheels!
My Two Wheeled Solution for LA traffic; Motorcycles or bicycles, baby!
Have fun s'shoeing and remember, "Arms drive the legs, baby!"
Namasnow!
coach ilg
{Editor's Note; you can see a picture of veteran WF Student "Fit Kit" on page 72 of TBT}
October 29, 2004
Coach Ilg,
Thanks for the snow(shoe) hit. We are still waiting to the good white stuff up here in the Great White North. I have been a WF follower since 1986 or whenever WF was in Outside. I own a copy The Winter Athlete. �Although my sporting love is running, Coach Ilg's statement from the article still inspires me..... "Success in cross-country skiing is all about how much pain you are willing to bear."
It applies to all cardio events and really to life.
Thanks for Direct Lines which only discovered 6 months ago. I will miss it when it goes.
- Dave B
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
***Noble Fitness Warrior David B -
thank you for the kind words! No need to worry about DL going anywhere but UP! stay tuned for
great upgrades to your Personal Practice of Wholistic Fitness!
i bow to you,
coach ilg
�
Coaches,
Oh, Ilgster...snidely belittling my beloved Red Sox. How could you?! Even this hockey-and-mountain yogi knows that �
baseball (the game, not the league) is the greatest invention in the history of human civilization. It's techie, it's poetry; it's �
fast, it's slow, it's timeless; it's urban, it's pastoral...it's magic!
And the Red Sox triumph...oh, the generational joy it has unleashed cannot be overstated. I cried last night! I've been �
having unexplained laughing jags for the past few days, with broad smiles appear for no apparent reason. It feels like the �
forces of light are once again on the march in the uni-verse.
*Long time WF Online Student Luke Smith (Teacher Sheader Clan)
celebrates the Red Sox victory with his faithful animal companion, Spooner.
�
My first response was to call my New England homeland and �
share the emotion with my 80-year-old father (and make sure �
he didn't have a heart attack)...he, too, was crying (as was my �
brother in Utah). That all three of us were able to live to see �
this day...ecstasy! And I have every belief that the difference �
this year was that a dear friend of mine's young son, �
inexplicably born a Yankee fan, this summer came over to the �
side of light, tearing off his Yankee jersey at Fenway Park one �
day and dancing on it. We're talking generational flow/chi/
pran here, brother! Ahh!
Another reason -- a very WF reason -- for the Sox's success is �
that this year, they let go the conscious mind and played with �
heart, with soul. Many times this playoff the Sox were quoted �
as saying things like, "We just play, we don't think. Our bodies �
know how to play the game...thinking just gets in the way." �
I'm butchering the quotes unfortunately, but they were very �
WF-ish.
Sure, they have flat asses and big bellies, and they chew �
tobacco. But I have hope for them, along with all other beings. �
And that hope is noticeably stronger today, the result of this �
triumph of goodness and light.
Anyway...
Congrats on the SoCal snow. Gonna get some snowfun in this �
weekend here in Alaska, too.
Take care, fellas.
Luke
PS: Spooner, of course, didn't know what to make of my �
jumping around and whooping and hollering and laughing �
and crying. He just shook his head and went back to sleep. �
But then, he's wiser than all of us human-folk.
"The essential thing in heaven and earth is that there should be long obedience in the same direction; there thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living."
�����������-Freidrich Nietzche
contributed by WF Teacher Sheader
�
"Failure is in the eye of spectator."
- Coach Ilg
�
"In meditation, the defect is within. Mosquitoes in the form of mental tendencies bite and do not let the meditative posture remain steady. Should the sadhaka (spiritual student) sleep? Has it not been said that the yogi is always awake? Continue to keep alive the consciousness of the one alone who has been observing you through the third eye (ajna chakra). He never forgets you. Oh sleeping Kundalini, awake Mother, awake! You have come to the earth to fulfil this mission."
- Swami Satyananda Saraswati
�
DIRECT LINES; the most authentic and potent East/West Chi Hit (still for free) On The Web....
fresh each day from those who live the Practice...photo of coach ilg in meditation by Ananda.
October 28, 2004
Ilgbro,
I wanted to thank you for the gift of YogaToes prior to our Furnace Creek 508 bicycle race.� My God those things made a HUGE difference the night before the race!� During my second leg, when my whole body was in a high level of pain as we were all experiencing the limits of endurance racing, I realized that for the FIRST time in my athletic career I was getting "piece of mind" and comfort radiating out of my feet.� This was a very strange sensation to me.� Usually in such hammer fests, the feet are screaming from abuse.� Not this time.� My toes felt so "open" and my platforms so strong yet relaxed.� I began focusing on my feet and this truly opened up my whole body; I remained calm yet attacked.� When I got the bike that night, our team was 45 minutes behind the leaders.� When I got done with my 57 miles, I had regained the 45 minutes and then put us out in front by another 7 minutes�thanks for the YogaToes baby!� They rock even by warrior RJ standards!� I highly recommend them to all that dare to have an open mind-and open toes!
Your Teammate and Student,
Ron
�
Ron Jones, MS
Atlanta, Georgia
ACSM Health/Fitness Instructor
Licensed Corporate Wellcoach
www.ronjones.org�
�
You mean you STILL have not followed Coach's endorsement of YogaToes?
dude, you're Pran is going to be off the back...
and your serial distortion is going to just get worse without 'em!
better contact Stephan right now:
Stephan Iscoe
1.800.488.8414
stephan@yogapro.com
Discover YogaToes Toe Trainers
"It's What Your Feet Want!"
�http://YogaPro.com/footcare
A HUGE NEWSBREAK!!!! and a La Petite Salute!
IT'S OPENING DAY OF SKIING in SO CAL!!!!!
not since i lived in Colorado have i been able to do exactly what i am going to today;
GO SKIING BEFORE HALLOWEEN!!!!!!
YEAH BABY! Time to let all those HP Yoga sessions and Jump Squats in the gym work for ME!!!!!
see you later...GONE SKIING!
coach ilg
ps; oh, on a side note the Red Sox finally won the World Series, their 1918 Karmic Debt To The Bambino
having been evidently lifted by Siva. let's hope the Red Sox take that picnic sport to the next Level...and
actually start looking, moving, and behaving like Warriors in the real sports...at least take the friggin' tobacco
out of their mouths and lose the flat asses and round bellies!
ps 2: a question from alert WF Online Student Bryan H:
Coach,
�Man, I'm buying a pair of snowshoes ASAP.� And I will be taking off from work the first day it snows in West Virginia.� What a friggin' beautiful journey up the San Gabes!�
�All thanks to my WF journey, I'm cranking the chi to unknown levels this year.�
�
Oh, and did you buy a Honda Element?
- Bryan
�
Noble BH!
your chi was STILL up there in those mountains since your Private Intensive with me, baby!
well, the Bank bought the Element,
they are just letting me drive it around!
it is fantastic.
30 years of two wheeled little dinker cars crammed with outdoor sports stuff...
the Element is like a Base Camp on wheels...fantastic.
i donated Little Guy (La Petite Hermano, see photo below) to the Orphaned Animal Fund.
love,
coach ilg
The legendary "La Petite Hermano"...my noble Warrior Pony of many years. La Petite has recently taken all
three of his magic cyclinders to go help Orphaned Animals. I now drive (occasionally) a
Honda Element, the ideal Ilgonian Vessel as it is bit like an ambulatory Base Camp. The Element's tribal name is
"Bala" which means both "Baby" or "Child" and also, "Strength, Power." You have seen Bala in several recent
DL photos. Though Bala is not driven much except on sport trips and gets great gas mileage,
still I cannot wait until Honda makes a Hybrid Element!
I bow to my beautiful and most Noble Warrior Pony, La Petite Hermano. RIP.
October 27, 2004
Thank you alert readers of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ADVENTURE Magazine who spotted the quote and picture of "Controversial Steve Ilg" on page 34 of the November issue. Good thing i am no longer a sponsored athlete however, since the image of me is one in poling transition while inline skiing and the editor unwittingly reversed the slide so that my Sponsor's jersey at the time cannot be read! Mainstream America still remains amazingly uneducated in the vast array of beautiful outdoor sports and modalities.
�
FIRST TRACKS BABY!!!!!!!
Back in Rocky Mountains, the absolute worst sin an outdoor athlete could make was to miss out on the First Tracks of the First Winter Storm of each year. I've always had a knack for grabbing the Hole Shot and today was no exception baby! it's hard to beat ol' Coach to the first snow! This morning, i nabbed it again...some say LA is a horrible place. Well, not MY LA! come on, Noble Fitness Warrior...the first snow of the season is FAR too important for you to miss! Come, i'll take you along on my snowshoe workout this morning:
The nearest snow line to me is on the east side of the San Gabriel Mountains...it's about an hour and fifteen minutes away, up Highway 14.
AHHH!!!! My first sight of snow for the year! This, to me, is what a REAL BIRTHDAY is all about! Mother Nature's birthdays have always been of far more meaning to me than human birthdays. The Dance of Brahma orchestrated by Vishnu, watched over by Siva...who waits for Spring!
Neoprene Warrior! Neoprene socks, running shoes with an overbootie, Goretex� pants, and of course Atlas sport snowshoes! Minimal equipment, maximal fitness training and fun!
SWEEEETT!!!!!!!!! HOW I ADORE MY BEAUTIFUL LIFELONG and LOYAL FAMILY OF SNOW, WIND, AND TREES!!!!!!
Hollowed trunk of Ponderosa...
...lifting her limbs toward Father Sky!
My route went up a gorgeous little creekbed which held for my eyes only...
..such quaint splashes of magic! Thank You God for gifting me physical fitness and the ability to APPRECIATE your Work!
i think "ilg" must mean "up" in Teutonic Germanic...this mountain yogi is always happiest when i find a mountain steep enough to make my spine shiver...looks like i found one!
Crotch shot at 7,800'...what it looks like to my view; sport snowshoeing up steep terrain is totally 'Blue Collar', baby! head down, hands drive into the snow, feet kick the spikes of the snowshoes into the steep snow and you just keep doing this over and over...i maintained a steady climbing tempo for 35 minutes, drenched in sweat, singing with spirit, until...
i climbed my way directly into a fractured granite headwall! EXCELLENT!!! Upward, Onward Noble Warrior!
some sections of the Headwall were steep enough i had to take gloves off and make some rock climbing moves...
the Art of Snowshoeing up granite cliffs! Mountain Yoga 101...i LOVE IT, BABY!!!! Air beneath ones britches is what keeps life full and passionate! CHI UP or it will be a "Direct Lines" straight down!
"The Gods speak clearest when your heart rate is Highest!" - Coach Ilg in Zone 4 Heart Rate...nearly sucking Goose Eggs!
After 1 hour of climbing over 25% steep, thigh deep snow i reached the top ridge...now the SUPER FUN PART!!! What goes up, must come down! The most effective way to get down steep, technical slopes like this? Start what i call, "intentional avalanches," and just run and glide and sometimes swim on top of the mini slab avalanches! it's GREAT FUN! SNOW SURFING baby! Heart Rate and Adrenalin Rate stay way high on the descent!
The best tracks a human can leave; snowshoe tracks. Without snowshoes, human civilization may not have ever survived. Snowshoeing...a real sport for real fitness warriors! I consider snowshoes the winter equivalent to bicycles...vital for a fitness warrior's spiritual education and appreciation of our human Tribe. Wanna walk on water? Go snowshoeing baby!
Wholistic Fitness�...since 1982...we've been more than just out there...we've been IN THERE!
May this DL ignite your Tribal Spirit and may you find the Dance Of The Winter Warrior Within Your Workout today!
i bow to you,
your feeble coach
October 26, 2004
Dear Coaches Sheader and Ilg,
I'm writing today because I've just gotta brag on ALL of It. WF, herbs, yoga, and WF Teacher Ko (Chris Roche). All so intertwined it's a challenge to know where to begin.
The short version:
On a tawdry 1100 miles on my bike this season I rode 50 miles of some of the steepest hills I know.
With Incredible Energy, Lightness. No soreness the next day - not even fatigue on the stairs immediately following the ride.
In the past I've approached this ride with well over 3000 miles on my legs, and had not-even-close to as much energy.
The longer version:
I spent two weeks off between cycles and one week with a new cycle being nervous about this ride. Indiana's great Hilly 100. I was supposed to ride to the ride (70 miles) on Friday, and then go and ride 50 miles Saturday and 50 Sunday. 40-degrees out with rain and blustery wind coupled with an 18 month old who was catching a cold (read: up all night) helped me to choose not to ride on Friday and Saturday.
On Saturday - the Universe provided - as I dragged my tired-but-grateful self to Ko's 9:15 a.m. yoga class in lieu of my ride. He immediately sensed my sleep-deprived fog and started throwing out challenges. Toward the end of class we worked our way into Camel Pose - me with my two blocks under my hands to get toward anything that slightly resembled Camel as it's meant to be. Chris, sensing (as he often does) the challenge for me, came over and provided support for my hips - only to find that it was my lower rib cage area that needed just the slightest movement. 'OK - Uncle!'
At the time I didn't notice that anything had changed. But I woke up Sunday morning to a bright sunny day absolutely jazzed to get on my bike and ride. I took off with a water bottle full of FD, downing a couple of action caps, and for the first 25 miles everything was much easier than I'd imagined it would be. It was at the 35 mile point that I met my nemesis climb -- Mt Tabor. 20.2% grade for .2 miles. Not very long, but practically upside-down as far as this flatlander is concerned. Even in my best condition ever, this hill has been difficult for me. So this year, with so little saddle time I really wasn't expecting to make it up.
But something else happened. Approaching the climb my body positioned itself. Long spine, relaxed upper body, breath down low. Half way up it hurt like crazy and I thought I would have to stop. But even hurting, my breath stayed low and my body felt light and open. I looked up and it just didn't look like it was that far. I put the hammer down and up I went. I'm not even sure I remember the rest, but I'm enjoying hearing the renditions of my friend who was following me.
So all of this time you guys have known that lungs can be pulled all the way down to the hips to create room for air?? Wow.
Thanks to Ko for wandering over and 'moving me.' last Saturday. Providing the connection to make all of the Work come True.
Thanks to Coach Sheader for writing the programs that snuck-up and made me stronger than I had any clue I could be. (And for being patient....)
And to Coach Ilg, the Mastermind of WF. Great Walker of his Talk.
I've always been a believer in this work. Intuitively, and scientifically. Now --- wow. To know this potential . This connection. This leaves me in awe. Speechless except to say Thank you!!
Much Love,
Student Wendy
October 25, 2004
Dear Coach,
What are the chances of getting some more race details from you?� I enjoyed your DL hit, but it would be great to understand more of the details if/when you have a moment. Once again, outstanding Work. ;)
- Student Michael
� Noble Student Michael -
sure, if enough DL readers really want to hear about nonstop pain and suffering. You know, us guys do not have the pain threshold ceilings which grace the abilities of most females. Guys tend to dramatize pain cuz we feel it at a different hormonal level than do women whose childbearing hormonal capacites allow them to be stoic (Ron Jones word), if not elegant, while enduring pain.
i am also holding off to see what the LA Times is going to do to Freelance Writer and teammate Roy Wallack's story of the event.
your Cardio Yogi,
feeble ilg
���
Dear Noble Coach,
I'm enjoying my WF Program so much, finding natural
rhythms and energetic harmonies--including letting my
body chill out and heal when it is time.
Particularly noteworthy is the yoga
series--delightful! These poses are RIGHT, for RIGHT
NOW. Tonight immediately after completing them, my
voice dropped, as I had shifted and immersed in a
refreshing tranquility.
Before signing off, I want to tell you how much I've
enjoyed DL. Coach Ilg's descriptions (congratulations
on this victory!!) and the photos are awe-inspiring.
You two are so beautiful.
Holding you in my heart,
Student Doreen, WA
���
Hi Steve:
Way to go at the Furnace Creek 500. You do walk the talk. As usual it inspires me to be better and more of a warrior.
Ai Imawa
Fit Kit, CANADA
���
Coach-
Thanks for sharing your Furnace Creek experience with us, it was great to be a part of it. Congratulations on the performance and the victory. Thanks also for the inspiration to go out and push my limits, or perceptions of limits.
On another note, it was great to see you get out to one of my most favorite places in the world, J Tree. I've spend many months out there in that beautiful desert park, clambering up rock faces adrift in a sea of J Trees. However, I'm not sure if you can call it "high-level" climbing when you're using oval 'biners, old Petzl draws, a non-padded (Chouinard?) gear sling, and (could it be?) slider nuts on your rack. ;)
That looks like Trash Can Rock, a favorite place of mine. Take care, Coach, hope to see you soon.
Student Orr
���
dear coache',
way to go......awesome!
love,
student dansan
���
Sir,
Congratulations on the 508!!!��The results and photos were posted on the 508 web-page.
Very respectfully,
-Ken
���
SCOLDING
or SPIRITUAL SCHOOLING?
Coach Ilg address a "testy" DL fan...with love and tough Light.
WF is like Team Racing; we are all here because we want the Podium. We must cheer each other on even when we ourselves are fatigued. Photo of coach ilg on top of the Support Vehicle cheering on a teammate during their First Place effort at the Furnace Creek 508 race
Noble Herbal Warrioress Kelly...
like a Mother Hen, i see All of what happens in the serious Students (both formal, meaning Online Students, and non-formal).
i See and Feel
your frustrations at what you term my 'scolding.'
please understand that
1) i am a WF Coach, my dharma is to kick people's spiritual and physical and emotional butts at well timed intervals taking many fans, students into consideration,
2) those 'scoldings' are spiritual imprints...and sometimes, if the Student takes the scolding non egoically, he or she will find them useful Footholds and Handholds,
3) i know all too well of the trials and tribulations of The Karma of Money...precisely why Dr. Chen came up with the worlds most rewarding financial compensation plan
in SUNRIDER...it's not about the expense of the Herbs...it's about your Willingness to do what it takes to simply Share them with a handful of people who wish to feel better
and live more healthy. about six people and Kelly eats all of Phase I and Phase II herbs for free! For free. Now, i am not scolding...i am schooling...you have EVERYTHING you need right now, to enjoy all the Herbs and even Online Training..if you Choose to find your spiritual stance and GO FOR IT!
let me now review your letter for any other input i might be able to offer;
RE: In response to your recent email, I have not received Coach Ilg's monthly report on Sunrider Herbs. I will watch for it and hope to receive it in the near future.
� i know, i don't like to barrage our Family of Herbers like i used to, yet buckle up for such a barrage! Autumn gets my CHI up!
RE: Also, I have been on Phase 1 for well over three months, but cannot afford to move on to Phase 2 at this time. Simply put, I struggle monetarily to stay on Phase 1. I will purchase Sunrider products for as long as possible, however, because I believe they are making a huge difference in my life, both physically and emotionally. But this brings me a question. I understand Direct Lines will not be available to those of us who cannot afford DSL, memberships, etc., after the first of the year, and I am concerned that I will not have access to Sunrider information at that time. Has Coach Ilg made any provisions for this?
� first, never say, you "cannot" do something.
if you do, you won't.
you see, Noble Kelly, your Higher Mind (buddhi) is All-Ways in the "on" position.
it is endlessly listening to what you choose to tell It.
you program your Higher Mind.
if i would have said, "i cannot pedal 17.5 mph into hurricane force winds for 6 hours," at Furnace Creek,
then, my team would have never gained the top step on the Podium.
if Kelly says "i cannot afford Phase II herbs,"...then, guess what?
you cannot!
Secondly, a WF Membership will only cost about a dollar a day.
if my Work is not worth that much Value to people,
they are free to seek another Path of similar quality for cheaper...(good luck!)
i, myself, have been Gifting this DL Work for free for so long, that i am no longer able financially to offer it as a Free Path.
i have no benefactors.
i TAF (Think and Feel) that a dollar per day is worthwhile.
so does a recent poll of DL readers.
before writing anything, a DL entry or a entire book, i make sure i feel
its contribution to the UniVerse is helpful and worth people's time and energy (money).
RE: It is very frustrating to have to rely on the "scraps," as Coach Ilg recently called it, of Wholistic Fitness that IS Direct Lines, but I would ask our feeble coach to keep in mind that it is all some of us can do. Really. In any event, I am prepared to let this part of my life go come January, but sincerely hoped to continue with the herbs for as long as possible. I would appreciate any other sources of information you might suggest.
� my suggestion is like the same suggestion in racing...when the Lead Group accelerates (and they will, again and again) and you are hurting like hell, yet you KNOW that the time to GO is NOW, you just go into what Ron Jones calls, "blue collar, baby," you put your head down, dig DEEP within yourself and fucking GO FOR IT...do Whatever It Takes to keep pace with the Leaders, because, soon enough, if you don't, the Leaders are up and over the next Hill and out of sight...you lose. thanks for playing. enjoy the view from off the podium!
WF Online is about ready to accelerate because, well, i am growing older and as my Own Practice steepens for my own attempt toward Enlightenment, my Outer Work in the World must become more streamlined. i don't want baggage in my Tribe. I want Warriors. Those willing to do What It Takes to keep contact with those flying toward the Podium, baby! remember, i created this Path in 1982 as a Performance Path...it is a Path for Finders, not Seekers. the actual number of Warriors doing the Real Work of WF remains very small. i prefer it that Way, because in my experience, the Podium is not able to accommodate many. just a few. contrary to the current generation slogan of "everybody is a winner," in spiritual work, everybody is NOT a winner...only the Warriors are the winners. the others watch TV and eat Krispy Kremes. how many Fully Realized Beings do you know? you and i have much Work to do. i say, let's stop talking and making excuses and start sweating.
RE: I would like to say, before the year's end, that I wish Coach Ilg (and you) success with the upcoming changes. WF teachings came along at a time in my life when I needed validation for what I was doing -- for my body, my mind and my spirit. I may get testy when Coach suggests we aren't doing enough, but I accept that he has no way of knowing our individual struggles and that there are plenty of people to whom his scolding more than applies. I appreciate what the WF team has done for the world of fitness, and for me.
� think, schooling
not scolding.
your Higher Self doesn't get "testy"
your ego does.
one of my jobs is to push ego buttons
every now and then
in a multitude of Ways...
just see if you can do the three Programs
in TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATIONS..
you'll find all sorts of buttons being pushed!
this button pushing is
called, Confrontation of Addiction To Ego.
know,
i
love
and
treasure your devotion
and faith...
feeble ilg
bows to YOUR
Practice of my humble yet Powerful Path...
thank you...
in Service of Higher Sweat and Spirit,
coach ilg
October 23, 2004
McKenzie Westmore shows off her WF & HP Yoga Shape!
High Performance Yoga� and Wholistic Fitness� celebrity student, McKenzie Westmore
talks about Coach Ilg, HP Yoga, and the SUNRIDER herbs at:
http://www.ediets.com/
{click on McKenzie's name on the cover of the magazine}
Steve Ilg's
Wholistic Fitness�
The World's Original Transpersonal Fitness Path...
A Most Engaging Lifestyle Journey Of Body/Mind/Spirit...
The choice of celebrities, world class athletes, and spiritual warriors since 1982
Fill out your Application for Online Study today:
http://www.wholisticfitness.com/online_app_form.html
All applications are NOT guaranteed to be accepted. Coach Ilg will notify you if your Application has been accepted and
place you under a Certified WF Teacher best suited to your objectives, temperment, and abilities.
October 20, 2004
"There was glitter in the pavement and OM in my mind." - Coach Ilg. a contemporary Yoga Master practicing Pratyhara. no ego (asmitra), just Coach Ilg, stayin' low and aero as He teaches in his HP Yoga classes as he dives moment afer moment into hurricane force winds across Death Valley approaching Townes Pass, a 5,000' climb which he will climb in record time to help his Team Sasquatch to a First Place Finish at the Furnace Creek 508 Mile bicycle race. Photo; Chris Kostman.
"While other racers were scarfin' pancackes for energy, RJ (Ron Jones) was inciting the CHI through High Performance Yoga warm ups." Photo; ilg archives.
"Half of winning is wise preparation." - Coach Ilg . Ron Jones interviewed by LA Times Photographer about how we set up our Race Van in the mist before the Start, Valencia, California...508 miles to go. Photo; ilg archives.
HP Yogi and Furnace Creek 508 Race Director, Chris Kostman delivers final race directions to the racers. Photo; ilg archives.
What i do IMMEDIATELY after a pull (drink a Ilg Supreme - thank GOD for SUNRIDER HERBS!) and crash...if possible...even 5 minutes is worth it!
What it looks like following a FC 508 racer at night. From the Support Van, up Townes Pass at about 2:00 am.
Why ultra racers do what we do. You do not KNOW ANY stretch of pavement until you and your breath have united upon it using effort as the Bridge!
Keith Kostman, early morning hours of Day Two. Gaining Inner Spirit and elevation over another mountain pass! Photo; ilg archives.
Team Sasquatch receiving First Place medals after 31.50 hours of racing. Photo by Ananda.
Two old pros in-Joying old age and still some medal around their necks!...Ron Jones with Steve Ilg. Photo by Ananda.
Coach Ilg sandwiched delightedly, if not dazed, between Laurie and Ananda at the finish. Coach Ilg, age 43, still setting standards for what all 'certified personal trainers' should do; walk their talk at a World Class level. Why settle for less?
After two days of no sleep...finally, sleep! Coach Ilg crashes 508 miles later in Twenty Nine Palms, California. Photo; Ananda.
How our Coach recovers after winning a world class ultra endurance race: 1) go to a High Desert such as Joshua Tree National Monument shown above. 2) Fish (non-harmingly) for Kangaroo Rats. Photo; Ananda.
Morning, Joshua Tree National Monument. "The coyotes raided our camp at night and stoled all of my chips and canned tuna." - Coach Ilg.
"One of my goals about Furnace Creek was to rock climb at a high level and immediately teach advanced yoga classes within 24 hours of winning a 508 mile endurance race...both of those goals i met. This was big to me." - Coach Ilg
Noble HP Yogic Warrioress Ananda ropes up for a climb at Joshua Tree National Monument (aka; JT). Photo by ilg.
For God's sake...will SOMEBODY PLEASE make our Humble Leader use a rope!!!! Coach Ilg free soloing (no Rope) a route called, "B2" at JT.
"The major themes of my Furnace Creek race revolved around steadfastness and the ability to cope. As Ananda and i were leaving Joshua Tree National Monument to return to LA, this coyote darted out from the Cresote bush to seemingly re-mind me that my outer world Work is but a paltry reflection of my inner Work. Coyote Medicine teaches us that our Highest Truth is Innocence and that being Unpredictable is very wise." - Coach Ilg. photo by ilg.
October 15, 2004
Namaste Noble Warriors!
the bike is packed, the teammates are gathering...the training is done...
now,
time to test the Practice...
heart rate will be high, yet my breath will be low...
merging into Mother Nature
through sweat and spirit, baby..
send me your CHI!
the more consistent and brave your Practice has been,
the more i will feel you in the Mohave wind...
i'll be back in LA and to you by tuesday...
adios
Sadhaka's!
your feeble coach
{steve, on top of a Utah volcano, enjoying the Ai Imawa posture; Touching Far Away Things With Our Mind. photo by Ananda}
5 QUESTIONS TO CHRIS KOSTMAN
Namaste Noble Warriors!
I have my ol' bro Chris Kostman here, Race Director
for THE FURNACE CREEK 508 where I will be racing
this weekend. I decided to bug him the night before his
big weekend just because he has made me do equally as
annoying things in the past! Consider this mini-interview some payback...
#1) Chris, first of all, what the hell do you have against my SOFTRIDE ultra-racing bike (see page 50 of THE WINTER ATHLETE)? That thing is a classic! Rumor has it that if i was going to ride it again, you were going to cancel the Race!
To answer in WF terms, that bloated bike is not elegant and is not at optimum bodyweight, plus it's just buttass ugly!
#2) You have made a living from creating, promoting, and (i must say, magnficently) directing some of the planet's most brutal endurance competitions. You have been at this stuff long before "EcoChallenge" and all the bullshit 'extreme events' came into fashion. What led you to do what you do and, 2b) has anyone ever died in one of your events?
At age 14, I was caught by the travel bug from living overseas for a few years as a kid and then was inspired to get into cycling by a friend of my parents, Sheldon Jackson. That same year I was "adopted" by the founders of the Race Across America and I essentially grew up with that race through high school and college. I raced RAAM solo at age 20 in 1987 and then earned a "Lifetime Achievement Award" from RAAM after thirteen years of service in 1997, at age 30! I love every aspect of endurance (and "adventure") sports, whether organizing, promoting, writing, or participating.
Thankfully nobody has passed away during any event under my command. All our events are held on the open road and are "out there," so we stress safety, safety, safety, plus cross our fingers every time (which is about fifteen times a year, since we produce that many events).
#3) After eight years, the same team that I will be racing with this weekend has been resurrected. Was this YOUR idea? Who can i blame for dragging my fat ass out of a nice Enlightenment-Bound Yoga Teaching era?
- Absolutely and I couldn't be happier! When your teammate Roy Wallack got the assignment from the LA Times, he called me first and said he had to cover the race from the inside. Within an hour I had sent a very persuasive and upbeat email to you, Ron Jones, and my big brother Keith, the rest of the original (and now still current) Team Sasquatch. So it's my fault, but I am very, very pleased to have all of you in the race.
#4) Where can DIRECT LINES readers follow this weekend's race or hear about results? If so inspired, where can they find out more about your absolutely demented career and ongoing ultra events?
Click and bookmark http://www.adventurecorps.com/webcast/2004fc/index.html for the webcast this weekend. To learn more about our events, click http://www.adventurecorps.com, http://www.the508.com, and http://www.badwaterultra.com!
#5) Finally, my heart opens wide open to see you attend my High Performance Yoga Classes! It is GREAT to see a world class ultra endurance athlete get onto the yoga mat and do some inner work of a different kind. What do you think so far of your HP Yoga experiences?
The first night I attended, I saw your cycling jersey with the slogan "Begin Again and Again" on the pocket. That really rang true for me because that night was about the fifth time that I'd begun anew my yoga practice. It was my first time, essentially, with you, though, and I am very pleased, humbled, and uplifted by the experience. It's just what I need and want and when one can get their "needs" and "wants" in line, then you know you're on the right track! You can expect to see me regularly in your cave over the coming years; as I told you recently, my competitive goals for the next three years are all planned, but are mirrored and matched by my strength and flexibility goals; the former will be realized in large part due to the latter and both will be equally meaninful. Thank you for your teachings and support on every level!
All the best
Chris Kostman
���
RACE ACROSS AMERICA CHAMPION RON JONES:
Training For 2004 Furnace Creek 508 at his home in Georgia...note the WF Prayer Flag!
���
Click Here For A Pic Of My 1996 Team
(with my "ugly ass" Softride bike prominently featured
much to Race Director Chris Kostman's chagrin!):
http://www.the508.com/reports/1997show/pages/fcpic14.htm
�
Click Here For A Pic Of Teammate Keith Kostman:
http://www.the508.com/reports/1997show/pages/fcpic27.htm
�
Click Here For A Pic Of Teammate Ron Jones:
http://www.the508.com/reports/1997show/pages/fcpic23.htm
�
Click Here For Another Pic Of My Ugly Ass Softride:
http://www.the508.com/reports/1997show/pages/fcpic32.htm
�
coach ilg
�in your upcoming race
take with you�our unwavering blue rods
and the oneness of our universal tiger eyes
knowing the precise moment
to smoothly unseat�your saddle
maintaining strong but�soft elbows,
our oneness with the breath
�
in Service of Higher Sweat and Spirit
�
and feel our unconditional love
as the source
of your climbs and decents�
as�you race across the
Mohave and Death Valley.
knowing that these are the things
that poems
and prayers
are made of
�
undedicated to the future
Here Now
challenging all steep terrain
breathing into the satisfying rush
of adrenalin
of conquering doubt
of knowing self
�
perhaps i love you so
because�i've come to realize
that�i see me in you
�
student d.
october, 2004
with excerpts from student d by steve ilg september, 2001
��
Dear Steve, Best of luck this weekend.
Love, Kendo
��
Dear Coach Ilg,
Good Luck on your adventure this weekend!
May all of the Universe smile upon your efforts :-)
You inspire All of Us.
WF online student under Coach Sheader,
Wendy Cooper
��
In my prayers.
Student Karl
�
Coach:
You will shred.
Student Feather
October 14, 2004
Namaste Noble Fitness Warriors!
feeble ilg is getting itchy for the Start Line!
i begin my 95 mile Time Trial around 5 or 6 o'clock on Saturday...
into the night i shall blast my breath and legs across Panamint Valley and
crush my cranks up and over Townes Pass before launching myself
like a missile gone awry on the 20 mile descent into Furnace Creek whereupon
i will hand the baton off to my teammate before crawling into our Support Van
(The Sasquatch Cave) to recover before my next 40 mile Time Trial several hours later.
i'm getting the Sasquatch Cave ready; putting in a makeshift "bed"
for us racers to collapse into after our pulls...figuring how several
bikes, spare wheels, food, and drink are all gonna be crammed into the
mobile Cave is making my head hurt!
Outside the van, i am plastering up our logo:
TEAM SASQUATCH
with supplemental inspirational posters to ward off our competitor's
energy and inspire our own and...to remind us to have fun:
"TEAM SASQUATCH: BIG, SCARY, and HARD TO SEE (Except On The Podium!)"
"TEAM SASQUATCH: SPIN FAST, STAY LOW, LOOK WITHIN!"
"FURNACE CREEK 508: AIN'T SO BAAAAAD!"
"TEAM SASQUATCH: 508 MILES OR....BONK!"
This morning, went for an easy 1.25 hour ride on my Trek, Sudhamani, newly outfitted with her
clip on 'aero bars.' the aero bars really mess with the balance and control of
such a light bike, yet i can't argue with how sleek and fun it feels to motor around
the local cobbles at 28mph and stay within Zone 2 heart rate! Love it!
i am going to lose a half mile per hour or so on the Townes Pass climb because of the
bars, yet with over 80 miles of flat to rolling terrain, the percentage of time i will
be down low in the Time Trial Position will more than make up for the small amount of
negative pull on the big climbs.
My body feels great. 146 lbs; fightin' light!
the amazing SUNRIDER HERBS dropped another percent of bodyfat from my
flesh. This is good. I am healthy. My 'engine' (heart and lungs) feels like a Porsche and my
chasis (legs, hips, midsection) feel mosquito light...Big Engine, Light Frame baby...
BRING ON THE DARK DESERT NIGHT BABY!
ILG IS READY TO UNLOAD!!!!
I will be racing totally on whole foods; you guessed it; nearly all SUNRIDER HERBS:
� Hydration On The Bike: FORTUNE DELIGHT + VITAFRUIT
� Hydration Off The Bike: ILG SUPREME baby +
� Supplemental Herbal Foods: Action Caps, Wu Chia Pi, MetaBalance 44, Beauty Pearls, Veros, Veros, Veros!!!!!!!
� Solid Food: SUNBARS, banannas, black mission figs, Salmon Jerky
the only non natural, isolated nutrients that i will consume might be POWERBARS and/or POWERGEL.
i've got a specific duffel bag i use on epic events like this labelled: ILG'S HERB SHOP
i promise you, by the end of race, everyone that comes into contact with me and my herbs
is at LEAST curious about my all-natural food approach to ultra racing and the SMART ones
(usually the ones i have beaten into a pulp while racing) just say, "Ilg, sign me up on that damn dirt
or whatever the hell you drink! i could use some of that stuff!"
To enkindle others,
you must first glow yourself!
One of my motivations for racing well is to help others
eat naturally, innocently, and POWERFULLY!
A PRE RACE PRAYER AND THANKS
Thank you God for gifting me such things as wisdom to know how to train,
herbs to keep my body and mind feeling so powerful yet light,
Thank you for gifting me a tremendous Sangha (spiritual family) who
send me and my teammates such great strength and faith in ourselves.
I dedicate my effort to my Teammates,
my Sangha,
and two inspirational FITNESS ELDERS:
Norm Hoffman
and Stephan Frease...
(contact my web manager for my Tribute to Norm and Stephan)
Thank you Elliot and the boyz at Reseda Cyclery for dialing in Sudhamani so perfectly.
Thank you Chris Kostman for the event and help, and special personal sponsorship thanks to
YogaToes, and PowerBar.
Most deeply felt thanks to Ananda without whose Unreal and Unasked and ALWAYS THERE
effort, energy, and smile
my Studio would not be standing
nor would i be riding.
Before i leave, i will update DL with Webcast info and introduce you to my teammates.
Ananda and i will be going rock climbing in Joshua Tree after the weekend of racing
(hey, i AM a WHOLISTIC FITNESS and multisport athlete, after all!)
yet will return to LA on Tuesday to fill you in...
i bow to your beautiful words below.
from the HeartSpace,
your feeble coach ilg
���
Noble Coach,
You've got it.
I teach meditation tonight.
We will offer our meditation to you.
And So It IS!
That is all
Student Fusano
���
Dear Coach Ilg,
I'll be there in Spirit...Breath and Posture!! ;)
Ai Imawa!
Michael T
���
Dear Coach:
Will be sending vibes towards you this weekend. Remember to tell your team to obey all traffic signs. Watch for the chi hits.
Ai Imawa
Fit Kit
���
Coach-
Best of luck and enjoy yourself across the beautiful Mohave this weekend. What a wonderful setting to test your practice. Thanks for the reminder that we must go on the "battlefield" in order to test our Faith. I am preparing for another trip to Zion to do an overnight wall climb-probably Moonlight Buttress or Prodigal Son. I will remember what you have taught me as I train and prepare.
Peace, Student Orr
���
Coach Ilg,
I emailed you 10 months ago feeling like�a victim, two discs blown in the last 15 months from a life time of serious outdoor efforts with poor posture and weakness. I felt broken. WF has helped me take responsibility for more of me and my condition.
I am not as sincere as I want and intend to be...
I am a growing WF pup...often times your WF DL hits me right in the chest.( Do you read my emails to Haku:)?)
Through online WF I am getting stronger oh so stronger.
May not seem like much but when I started with Teacher Joseph
and I attempted dips I could rattle off only two!
Two bench triceps maybe 15 seconds.
Mid-Section-puffy and weak, leg raises 3 and shaky!
Talk about an ego blow and realistic shot of how weak I had become!
The other night during WF CY ST?
I cranked off 15 dips!!!!! 15!!!! I am 40, this is the most dips I have ever done at one attempt.
Two bench triceps - I can make it a minute
Mid-Section -I am ripped! At least my wife thinks so...Leg Raises...30 secs, 1 minute - yes doable!
Riding strong, feeling yoga!
Coach I just want to thank you and Teacher Joseph Sheader for bringing me back, I am not where I will be but I feel good!
WF is the way.
Sincerely,
Stephen M. Jones
October 13, 2004
DIRECT LINES: Perhaps The Highest, Noblest Chi Hit For Free
On Planet Earth...
since 1982
the Leader of Transpersonal Fitness...
i bow to your ongoing efforts to explore your inner Self through
conscious fitness.*
at the Higher Heart Rates
among Sister Wind and Grandfather Cold
under a shimmer of sky and a shudder of sunlit summits
the Higher Self
communicates with God
far more Clearly
far more Truly
than from perfumed pews
and money spattered altars.
Why so few bicycle racks at churches?
Ever think about that?
Ever consider the hypocrisy of worshipping God
as you mindlessly abuse His earth's resources?
Or the body He gave you?
How, exactly conscious is your Posture right now?
Your (His) Breath?
Who (in the Hell {Realms})
taught you to be so damned lazy in your 'prayers'?
Well,
feeble ilg will tell you this much:
Strength of prayer is directly related to your Frequency of Sweat!
Trace my Steps,
Oh Noble Yogis!
Join WF Online Study...An Ancient Light Emerging...
"The Absolute Epitome of Personal Fitness Training."
Train Hard
Live Soft.
namaste,
coach ilg
PS;
ooops, did i inspire you?
that's okay, it'll pass..
every day my Words and books and videos
and blah, blah, blah
will keep passing through
you like...
Chinese food.
No, no, no
no REAL need for YOU to actually
JOIN WF ONLINE TRAINING...
the REAL JUICE of Transformation!
(because, quite frankly,
my Online Path will demand the Highest From You...
you've got Work to do to hang with me and my 4 Certified
WF Online Teachers who are, at this moment,
smiling, waiting, for you to JUMP ON INTO ONLINE TRAINING!
Their Practice is your Perfection.
I'm sorry, i know it is
much easier to keep the Chiropractor appt.
and let SOMEONE ELSE adjust your bones.
much easier to keep the Psychologist appt.
and let SOMEONE ELSE explore your own mind.
much easier to keep taking the meds, the pot, the wine
then purifying your negative tendencies through Sweat and Silence.
from wheelchair to multi-World Class podiums...i have heard it all,
but...
you're right, you're okay, just keep reading DL
just keep dancing around the edges of your Tribal Firepit;
Just keep watching US...your Online Tribal Brother and Sisters
who are truly in TRAINING for their Awakening!
you ain't gonna get the guts of WF by reading DL...
only the scraps...
STUDY WF ONLINE TRAINING
* Coach Ilg, SunRise Ski Area, 8,232', moments before setting a PR on the Mt. High Time Trial
in preparation for his 10/16-17th 508-mile Furnace Creek Race. photo by Ananda.
� HP Yoga Teacher Ananda feeling the Chi Squeeze between Noble HP Yogic Warriors Steve Mackel (left) and Brandon at the Malibu Triathlon. Faith in ones Practice is not true until tested on the battlefield. These guys are faith-full. photo/coach ilg�
Steve Ilg's
HIGH PERFORMANCE YOGA�
OCTOBER, 2004
SANGHA NOTE
"Change and Impermanence are essential for Higher growth in all things and all beings.
Seek small changes, not big end points.
Enjoy the process of change or you will leave the best part behind; yourself.
A drunk should remain a drunk until change becomes a better high than alcohol.
A yogi should not do the splits if he can't touch his toes, he should reach his edge,
breathe and wait for change to arise from within.
Change and Impermanence are only difficult for those with preferences;
prefer nothing and all things Dance before you.
Expect nothing, and you shall never be disappointed."
- Steve Ilg, The Wholistic Fitness Sutras (#23)
page 307, TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION
�
some mornings, during my BrahmaMuhurta meditations, as the edge of night
softens into the mist of dawn,
i hear the whoosh of Herons lifting away from Martinez Creek,
i hear the chirping of Mountain Nuthatches pestering a large Ponderosa beneath Pagosa Peak
my early morning reverie jolts into a smile...i still live in LA
those sounds
are not sounds of wildlife
but of the 405 Freeway
yawning beneath its growing traffic for the day.
�
Last night, Tuesday, our packed Cave was filled with Tapas...heated effort and willpower
and Love...
What a Blessing to know Yoga as a lifestyle choice... professionally or personally does not matter.
What matters, of course, is to do the Practice.
As our Practice slowly saturates our daily life actions over the years
Change occurs
Impermanence is realized
And the scariest component of Transformation of Self
is mistaking sounds of a freeway for that of birds of flight.
It all becomes okay
just to live, breathe, and flow with What Is
instead of What We Think Things Should Be.
�"Just to live, breathe, and flow with What Is."...HP Yogini MG at the Malibu Triathlon
�
HP Yoga is special stuff.
That is not arrogance, it's confidence.
Confidence comes from Knowledge.
You and i KNOW that HP Yoga works.
It changes us for the better, the stronger, the healthier.
I like to think of HP Yoga Practice as the Sharpening Of The Warrior's Sword...
where inner Spirit is empowered by Sweat
and Truth dances with union of Willpower, Bravery, and Acceptance.
�
HP Yogini Kai yesterday bought a bicycle to use for commuting.
One less car, baby; THAT is Engaged HP Yoga!
She rode her new bicycle to our Cave last night, her little girl smile
far more luminous than the street and car lights along Ventura Boulevard.
HP Yogins Steve M, Brandon, Rebecca, MG, and others used their Yoga Practice
to swim, bike, and run their own unique Higher Paths into themselves during the Malibu Triathlon.
HP Yogini Karen first came to my Cave a few months ago,
her very flexible limbs quivered through HPY's unique strength-first
approach to suppleness.
Last night, Yogini K looked - in deed - like a graceful bird in flight herself;
muscled arms stretched like a Hawk's wingspan, her now powerful legs rippling with strength,
her ice blue eyes riveted on the only sight that matters; in-sight!
all spiritual work must be grounded before it can soar
HP Yogins like those mentioned above realize this
because they CHOOSE,
they DO WHAT IT TAKES,
to make it to class and Practice Steadily (Abhayasa).
�
i notice something else about my early morning meditations;
a quivering candlelight can still ignite my stick of incense.
Today, Noble HP Yogin,
whoever you are,
whatever you do
even if you have falsely been conditioned
to live a quivering Light
instead of your natural magnificent Light,
i want you to feel very,
very
pleased about Who You Are Choosing To Be
because
i have seen you sweat in my humble studio
i have watched Self-Doubt tempt you time again not to be brave and bend your knee or straighten your arms
i have seen you grow strong
i have seen your restrictions melt and become Open through your skillful use of Ujjayi breathing
(remember, even rocks breathe; they contract and expand..
if rocks can move and dance,
so can your pain, your restrictions, your dis-eases).
perhaps most importantly,
i have felt your sincerity
particularly during Corpse Pose
the growing quietude of your mind
the calming of the inner chaos.
you see, Noble Warrior,
i
know just how beautiful
you
truly are.
�
thank you for all the well - wishes for my race this weekend.
i bow as deep as possible to YOUR FAITHFUL PRACTICE
and strength of spirit.
i shall soar on my bicycle through the Death Valley night and day
just in-Joying
the endless Dharmic Blessing
of
sweat
and
breath.
that is Yoga.
that is all.
�Confidence comes from Knowledge, yet to Know Yourself you must be willing
to test yourself. An ageless Warrior nears the Finish Line at Malibu.�
�
get the WF, HP Yoga, and SUNRIDER Dharma
fresh as can be
from worldwide students
like you
everyday right here
complimentary since 1982...
my feeble Gift to my amazing Sangha:
http://www.wholisticfitness.com/weblog/ilgblog.html
in Service of Higher Sweat and Spirit,
coach ilg
?
October 12, 2004
Namaste Noble Warriors!
it is incredibly touching to get so many well wishes for me and my teammates
charge across the Mohave and Death Valley this upcoming weekend...
more importantly, it pleases me that so many of you are vibing with
my encouragements to always find Yoga in ALL our fitness and daily actions...
or, as i like to say,
"Our Workout Is Everywhere..."
here are just a few of your well wishes...thank you!
i will feel your spirit sing through my cells this weekend...
love,
your feeble coach
Yoga is skill in action.
- Bhagavad Gita 2.51:
� As for this weekend, GO COACH!!
With love
Online WF Student Diana
� Coach,
Very cool. I've been "taf"ing about doing the 508 or
the Adirondack 540 solo... Next year, my
inspirational Teacher, I shall compete in a RAAM
qualifying event.
In Beauty,
Online WF Student BH
� yo coach,
you go baby!
krak
� You shall receive my spiritual energy to get you through the race. Enjoy every moment, as I know you will.
- Warrioress LeValley
�Dear Coach Ilg,
I'm a student of a student of a student of yours, and I'm writing to wish you well in the Furnace Creek 508. I had the pleasure of riding much of the course in the spring of '03, but in a leisurely tour - not the bonsai, kamikaze, no-holds-barred, ripped-open-to-the universe mode in which you will attack the course with your three teammates. Best of luck to you.� I can't wait to read about your adventures!� (I loved the recent account of a weekend race in "Direct Lines" - I referred to it frequently as I prepared for a race of my own last weekend.)
Keep the rubber-side down,
Blessed to be a student in a world full of teachers,
John S.
�
"We act as though comfort and luxury were the
chief requirements of life, when all we need to make us happy is
something to be enthusiastic about."
- Charles Kinglsy (contributed by WF Master Student Hakado Ru
October 11, 2004
NEWS FLASH!!!!
COACH ILG TO COMPETE THIS WEEKEND AT THE
2004 FURNACE CREEK 508 Race!
�training for the 508 near St. George, Utah. photo by Ananda�
Beckoned out of retirement, "America's Outdoor Athlete," Coach Ilg will compete once again with his original 1996 teammates at the Furnace Creek 508 Mile Bicycle Race. Ilg, a former State Champion in road cycling, accepted the offer in order to honor teammate Ron Jones's induction into the UltraCycling Hall of Fame and, 'to test my Yoga Practice...i want to make sure the Teachings about faith and devotion that i talk about in my HP Yoga Classes on on DL are being walked by myself at the Highest Level of world class sweat and perseverance. Faith and devotion mean nothing unless we periodically test those inner qualities against the absolute limits of the body, mind, and spirit. i want to make sure i am not just being some lame ass 'studio yogi' who is afraid of truly pushing him or herself to the extreme. A yogin cannot know the Middle Path until he or she knows where are their extreme limits. this race is one of the most demanding 'Yoga Studios' i know of. i am excited to test my Practice and deepen my learning." said Coach Ilg after a 4 hour training ride last week.
LA Times writer, Roy Wallack, who is a part of the original team, will be doing a 2-page feature on the race as he himself competes alongside Coach, Ron Jones, and Keith Kostman. A live WebCast is expected. Stay tuned to DL each day this week for details as Coach gets closer to the start line!
"I accepted Chris Kostman's (FC 508 Race Director) invitation less than a month ago. Since then, i feel as though the spiritual victory has already occured for me already; if nothing else my pre-event training has produced a high level of fitness in a very short time; a hallmark of a Wholistic Fitness Master Student. i have acheived two Time Trial personal records, a 3rd Place in a 48 mile race and a 9th Place in a 63 mile pro ride last weekend. the quality of my sport performances truly stamped a validation of just how effective is our Path of HP Yoga, WF Training, and of course, SUNRIDER Herbs!"
The race starts in Santa Clarita, California on Saturday, October 16th at 9:00 am and finishes some 20 hours later in TwentyNine Palms, California after a 508 mile, 35,000' of climbing through the Death Valley and Mohave Deserts.
Go to:
www.the508.com
Coach will be racing two stages, #3 (a key stage) and #7.
You can see maps, 3D, and elevation profiles of each of the eight stages here:
http://www.midcalracing.com/508/508maps.htm
���
FEAR AND FITNESS CD ROCKS!
Steve,
I received your FEAR AND FITNESS CD on Saturday.� I listened to the lecture that day and then again on Sunday on the way to a Cross race simulation that I did with several friends.� �The lecture really puts thing in perspective, last year I felt like Dan Jansen, on a much smaller level!� Having won the New England Cross point series the season before I started the next season fast( with a new sponsor, bikes and kit) �but over reached in my training and went down in overtraining flames. I had no choice but to lose.� I ended up having to hang up the bike for the season.�� Your lecture really helped me put the experience into perspective and hopefully use the experience to my advantage.
I also think it could help my golf game too!� I know the Yoga video has.�
An additional surprise was the message I gave to my nine year old son before his hockey game Saturday evening "go out and have fun, just do your best and love the game"� a much different message that he's used to hearing in the high pressure locker room of New England Youth Hockey.� He scored 3 goals!
Thanks again,
Sammy Morse
October 09, 2004
Do not you think that your restrictions are unbelievable?
Do not you think that
YOUR stress
YOUR weakness
is somehow DIFFERENT
MORE SUPERIOR
Than other people�s stresses and weak areas?
Do not you think that there is absolutely NO WAY an alternative,
�whole-listic� Path can possibly help
YOU
because YOUR injury,
YOUR way of �training�
YOUR way of preparing for your death,
YOUR mental )&$#-upness
YOUR �special circumstances�
YOUR LIFE
Is somehow
Someway
BEYOND
A
NATURAL,
PROVEN
SPIRITUAL
Path for
Over 20 years
And seeped in the Wisdom of the Ancients?
That somehow Coach Ilg� broken back
Was somehow
Someway
LESS INTENSE that what limits YOU
From regaining YOUR
World Class
Capacity for what YOU love to DO and BE!?!?!
That YOU ALONE
must rely upon
Prescribed DRUGS
Or
Fancy COUNSELING
Or
ANYTHING ELSE
besides
Your own
Unique
Capacities
To
COPE
To
DEAL
To
Maybe
Just
MAYBE
GROW
FROM
your CHALLENGES
(perceived problems/issues/injuries/pain/weakness/fear/)
As well as your
CHOICES!!!!?!?!
Each one of our
(only)
FIVE CERTIFIED WHOLISTIC FITNESS TEACHERS
Has an Opening
For the Best
Deal on MotherEarth
And YOUR
unique
Sacred
EarthWalk:
Hire your own Certified WF Teacher:
$75 - $200/month
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Through
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What?
You got something MORE IMPORTANT
To spend your money on
Than your OWN
AWAKENING?!?!?
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ONLINE WF FITNESS, baby
How HIGH do YOU want to FLY
This LIFETIME!?!??!
October 07, 2004
"At once fortified and humbled."
- Christian Griffith, world famous sport climber
personal exchange with Coach Ilg relating to the spiritual implications of a Climbers Life.
Coach -
YogaToes!� Wow - do I need to say anything else?
I received mine today and already love 'em.
Many thanks for your wonderful insights.�
- Student C
ANOTHER FIVE STAR REVIEW OF TBT
i know many of you who get It (WF) just cannot understand why the hell TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION is NOT the Number One Non Fiction book on the NY Times BestSeller List and Dr. Phil's Fitness Book is...well,
welcome to the Outer Directed World, my fellow Warriors!
as a traditional Teacher who has been Instructed by my Teachers not to spend a dime on advertising (which i have faithfully NOT done in 20 years of bringing WF to the public) let alone hiring a MARKETING and PR firm which ALL of my contemporaries at my level of the Game have done (i won't even mention plastic surgery or...!...hey, being a fitness trainer in LA is dog eat dog. fortunately, i love dogs, and do not wish to eat them), i am willing to live and die by the strength of my Sangha...those who i share this Work with must reach within themselves to actively engage support for that which comes through me.
that is all.
it's not about me.
it's about you.
how much you care for WF and HP Yoga...well, what are YOU doing to share the value
of what you have Found through my Work?
it gratifies my heartspace to read the words of the Online Warriors who type in their embrace of TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION such as the beautiful being below at amazon.com
or
borders.com
or
barnesandnoble.com
i just Serve.
it's up to you to keep WF afloat in the mainstream.
i promise you this however,
it is a swim upstream against the current, just like in my CD: Stream Entry...
as i take another breath
i realize just how beautiful it feels to be a Part of a body/mind/spirit Vibe that
has pulsed so far in front of the pack for so many long years...
i bow to your actively engaged support of that which flows through feeble me.
namaste and enjoy the review below,
your feeble teacher
*
Surprise youself
Reviewer: "mjdpost" (Fair Haven, NJ United States)
I've practiced the various disciplines described in Total Body Transformation - strength training, cardio training (as a bike-riding commuter), and a few yoga classes - separately at various points in my life. I've experienced benefits from each, but never did all three at the same time. I purchased this book because I was interested to see how these different fitness disciplines could be combined into a single practice (also because I was interested in getting myself into great shape).
There are a few impressive things about this book. First is that Ilg has created a schedule that gives you enough of each discipline to experience the benefits of all of them. And not just one schedule, a cyclical regimen you can use to train continuously, without overtraining. The amount of time, learning, and trial and error the author must have spent in constructing such a program is astounding. It's great to have his experience distilled in such a concise, readable form. This is the kind of advice that once only elite athletes could get; now, thanks to Steve Ilg, it's available for the price of a hardcover book.
The most surprising thing about this book is the insights that Ilg provides into the inner experience of doing the program. Lifting weights had always seemed like a pretty mechanical operation to me; before this book, I never considered how mental focus could improve the quality of the exercise. Now, for example, in the middle of a back squat, for, I'll remember a snippet of his advice about what to think about in order to do the exercise better. Similar is his advice to be bold about trying certain movements, like Hang Cleans, that look intimidating until you actually give them a try.
If you are serious about getting into good shape, not just better shape, give this book a read.
WELCOME TO ONLINE TRAINING!!!!!:
Mike Singer of Seattle, Washington...
his Application opened the Temple Door and i am pleased to announce
that New Student Singer will begin his Basic Online Studies under WF Teacher Sheader...
on behalf of the Many Finders who have helped Pave The Higher Fitness Way before you,
i wish you well on your Practice, Noble New Student Singer!
You took the Jump into the REAL PRACTICE of ONLINE STUDY and all of my Teachers
are Here Now to Serve you...in-Joy!
���
Dear Coach Ilg,
Thanks for the thoughtful response to LB about coughing.� I have to admit, that when I�started training two years ago, I had my share of "ailments" from sitting at a desk too long.� When Haku gently suggested that there were likely internal reasons for much of what I then perceived to be problems, I had my doubts.� I've now come to understand how much our inner dramas do have a bearing on our physical health.� And as you suggest, going deep to just be with the symptom is a great way to begin to understand it.� For me, it was going deep and finding muscle tension that I wasn't releasing and then finding that it wasn't the physical act of sitting in a chair...it was how I felt about sitting in that chair that was having an effect on me.� I hope that LB is open to your wisdom in DL as there is so much that we can learn by paying attention to what our bodies are trying to say.
Namaste,
Michael
���
Dear Buddha Eyed Teacher,
thank you for sharing.
as All Ways i learn under your Dharma Helm.
i bow,
ananda
���
Coach Ilg,
Thank you and Ananda for coming to Chicago and holding a power yoga class.� It was excellent and inspiring.� Many thanks, and come back soon!.
Jim
PS:� Perhaps your class was too inspiring as I jumped in with traffic on Michigan avenue and tried to draft some cars.� Anyway, the rollerblade back was terrific � wet shirt from yoga workout, cooling night breeze and a wonderful bike path. Many thanks.
���
Coach Sheader
Training was pure joy this week (sounds corny I know, but that�s pretty much how I feel anymore most of the time). ST was not painful; I think the shoulder has almost healed. Surprisingly, overhead movements are not painful, nor are push-ups. Man I am a wimp on the high rep squats...completed the set, but breathing like a freight train. Regarding the first half of the �Om God workout, I loved this workout and yes I was gasping for air.
Keeping meditation simple, with no expectations other than bathing in my true nature.
Getting the yoga flow going again.
Continuing to eat light and fulfilling the earned sustenance.. weight is down to 182 from 210. I visualize 165.
Regarding my previous comments about reconciling daily life with awakening, I found this passage during some reading and it helped. I love the analogy of doing flips on the tightrope.
"you are aware of the constant Spirit� in you , and you are also aware of the movie of life, the ego and all its ups and downs. You still feel pain and sorrow, love and joy, but they can no longer convince you of their importance�you are no longer, the victim of� life, but it�s Witness. In fact, because you are no longer afraid of your feelings, you can experience them with greater intensity. The movie of life becomes more vivid and vibrant, precisely because you are no longer grasping or avoiding it, and thus no longer trying to dull or dilute it. You no longer turn the volume down. You might even cry harder, laugh louder, jump higher. Choiceless awareness doesn�t mean you cease to feel; it means you feel fully, feel deeply, feel to infinity itself, and laugh and cry and love till it hurts. Life jumps right off the screen, and you are one with all of it, because you don�t recoil.
If you are having a dream and you think it�s real, it can get very scary. Say you are dreaming that you are tightrope walking across Niagara Falls. If you fall off, you plunge to your death. So you are walking very slowly, very carefully. Then suppose you realize that it�s just a dream. What do you do? Become more cautious and careful? NO, You start jumping up and down on the tightrope, you do flips, you bounce around, you have a ball�precisely because you know it isn�t real."
�
I have spent 10-15 hours a week on the bike these last couple months and it feels like a ticket to the deconstruction of reality (what I thought was reality). Practicing awareness�observing the same things playing out every ride with other cyclists, honking drivers, weather, etc�and also observing new things, noticing smiles, taking the chance to wave at people, feeling the rain.� Hard to explain in words.
My dog, Tao, who was with Lesa and I for 16 years passed away 2 months ago. She had been struggling for awhile and when we could see it was time we took her in and helped her die comfortably. I haven�t tried to describe it to anyone, even Lesa, but as I talked in her ear at the time of her death and hugged her, IT WAS HAPPENING TO ME. I could feel the life pass from her, watched the eyes go blank and the mucous run from her nose and I wasn�t imagining it happening to me, IT WAS HAPPENING TO ME. �Prior to that moment, I had been going through the motions of waking up from the dream and seeking what I thought I should seek. After that moment, an irreversible, inescapable process �began�like falling or jumping from a cliff.� There is no turning back. So much bullshit that seemed important I now laugh at. I truly feel like a warrior now�
Namaste,
Online Warrior Tim B
October 06, 2004
TRANSPERSONAL FITNESS AWARENESS: COUGHING
(excerpt from an actual Online Training exchange)
Dear Coach -
Recently, my cough is persistent and (sometimes very) uncomfortable. it wakes me up in the night and disturbs my husband and baby. my coworkers have begun commenting on it during the day. the methods i have used so far have not helped it, and i want to do something that will. i talked to my doctor on the phone and he advised me to order some homeopathic products. i could do this, or visit the allopathic doctor here�at work�today, or go to a chiropractor who has helped me in the past. he does muscle testing, then adjustments, and prescribes whole-food nutritional supplements. your thoughts?
Online Student LB
Noble Student LB
This cough is an Attention Gaining device from your Higher Self (Atman). we must learn from it, rather than merely 'treating' it. i will leave the choice of your 'treatment' to you, since i am not a doctor. i can suggest however, that getting a couple of bottles of SUNRIDER's VITASPRAY
http://store.sunrider.com//Shop/Product_51.asp?dept_id=3&pf_id=34
is absolutely terrific for instantly (via the mucousa linea) delivering immune bolstering (you will feel the b12 hit) chi!
and the application of applying SUNBREEZE BALM to the back of the throat may also help address the chakral/physical imbalance and regulate the energy therein.
http://store.sunrider.com//Shop/Product_51.asp?dept_id=10&pf_id=44
and now, buckle up for the deeper and more fun stuff:
Transpersonal Fitness Aspect; Coughing
by Coach Ilg
"What we put in thought will always come back and land in the same area where we tightened at that moment."
-Reshad Feild, Sufi Master
from HERE TO HEAL
Coughing, in my professional and personal experience seems often times to be a manifestation of not consistently practicing WF Lifestyle Principle #3; Appropriate Action. At the Highest Level, a persistent cough is an effect of speaking, thinking, and acting by a conditioned, impulsive, afflicted mind ('manas' in yoga), instead of a balanced, expansive mind ('cit' in yoga).
Second Level of Coughing may be related to what yogis know as "nishvasha" or faulty, shallow, unconscious breathing throughout the day. Shallow breathing is a classic way of avoiding magnificent and noble participation in life. By deep (conscious) breathing throughout our day, we say YES to life. Passively sucking in barely enough air to survive is FEAR of LIVING...this is one reason why so many people "Hate to do do Cardio," and precisely why i made Cardio one of my Five Fitness Disciplines that must be practiced everyday or nearly everyday. I need my Students to confront those Fear Issues instead of developing chronic cough, bronchitis, asthma, etc.
Also very interesting is that chronic coughing is often an expression of negative thought patterns and particularly a repression of anger. A very passive/aggressive energy, coughing is a way to draw attention to ourselves...one reason why so many spectators tend to cough at symphonies, public lectures, ballets, etc., is because they themselves are not PARTICIPATING FULLY IN THEIR OWN LIVES so, they project their astral self out onto the stage to be one of the highly trained performers who ARE willing to take the risk of living their Bliss.
Too much spectating of our lives leads to chronic coughing and other dis-eases of the throat chakra (communication/expression). Working out, particularly within the WF Disciplines and Lifestyle Principles, can effectively destroy the root essence of coughing and other respiratory afflictions. Essentially, and i've said it a million times; just do your Practice.
Persistent coughing implies we are not releasing an irritant in our lives...this could be a family member, a partner, a pet, a living situation, a lack of Practice, or an inner aspect of our selves (addiction to some sort of sense pleasure; eating, sex (masturbation), entertainment (TV,news, etc)). As Shapiro states, coughing indicates that, "...we are choking on life, are not at ease with our reality. A cough can arise when what we are taking in is causing us to want to cough it back out again."
as a yogin, you are to go INTO whatever arises in your life; it is your Spiritual Workshop. I learned the above stuff by researching my own coughing spasms that rocked my childhood. I was willing to travel beyond 'treating" my coughs, moving beyond just "getting it fixed" or "getting over it" and accepting my Coughing as a guru.
Now, using the above material for a spiritual launchpad, attend to your WF Practice, including meditation and pranayam and see if YOUR HIGHER SELF can arise to conquer the ISSUE of the cough...not the external manifestation that appears as the act of coughing.
in Service of Higher Sweat and Spirit,
coach ilg
?
October 05, 2004
PIEDRA STILLNESS
I must have stood
on my
skis
a long while...
Staring at the
snow.
Hidden
frozen
Piedra River Valley
her mammoth strata
of ice
upon ice.
To this world
outside of my own,
I tell my secrets.
When it was time to continue,
I was cold.
- Steve Ilg
from PAGOSA SPEAKS; A Book Of Regional Poetry (1990)...available at our Tribal Online Catalog.
photo of Ananda climbing Lake Peak above Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2003 by coach ilg
�
magnificent portions of my Blessed life have been spent upon snow.
snow is, my most preferred medium of gross level Pran.
skis, snowshoes, crampons, sleds, or mountaineering boots; i love the sense of snow
beneath me.
the sounds of her.
the bite of her against my face.
a tribute of my Love for snow is my fourth book; THE WINTER ATHLETE.
that book is my sweat soaked anthem of all that is Sacredly Cold.
to get True =
get Cold.
get so Cold your bones shudder and your spit freezes your lips together...
then
shall your true Spirit soar uninterrupted through your cold crystallized self.
here is what ruins winter serenity and evocative Insight from winter's cathedral; snowmobiles.
here is what chases down pregnant Elk and Deer who struggle through long winters; snowmobiles.
here is what kills wolves, trout, owls, and wild whispers of eternity; snowmobiles.
you love animals?
you love human integrity instead of human obnoxiousness?
you love the spirit of Wholistic Fitness and HP Yoga?
you love these things?
show me you care by engaging some Yogic Warriorism:
http://www.ucsaction.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=22015
i bow to you in defense for those cold animals who cannot speak
and for all that which is Sacred Cold,
Snowy Warrior Ilg
author/THE WINTER ATHLETE (Johnson Books)
October 03, 2004
Tales From The Kingdom of Cardio
" Embrace the difficulty and deal with it;racing bikes is all yoga. " Photo/Waynewilliamsstudio.com
The smell of TriFlow lubricating my bicycle chain is to me this morning, a more profound incense than Nag Champa. It�s 7:15 am. Most men my age, if not still asleep, are sucking coffee as preparation for washing their car(s) before a long day of supersetting football and beer. My Sunday morning felt to me more worthwhile of a human endeavor; i was preparing to race my bicycle.
Just describing todays 54-mile race route is enough to shudder my heart rate. CSUN University, which lies smack dab in the flats of San Fernando Valley, is the start line. Nearly forty brilliantly colored racers noodled south until we could soar east on Ventura Blvd. A gentlemanly speed of about 25 miles per hour quickly simmered down to an almost reasonable 16mph up the 3 kilometer climb of Sepulveda Pass. It was still early and �E�, a somewhat brash, young professional had returned to our local training races from Europe. He, along with three other Category 1/2�s, wisely kept the amateurs in the peleton in check on the climbs to ensure an appropriate pace and tempo. More than a few racers had a spot of difficulty and were already off the back by the time the summit tunnel was left behind.
Down into Brentwood, a sprint prime awaits; these preordained points are a race within a race. After an ideal morning of pranayam and feeling light and strong thanks to my morning bowel movement (Oh, thank you Dr. Chen for Slim Caps and Fibertone!), my legs felt whippy; i came hard around the wheel of �Big Bart� and charged up a headwall clicking 36 mph, a speed high enough to manufacture a gap for my teammate and set him up for the sprint. He did not win the sprint however. �E� did.
Mile 16: another sprint prime along San Vincente Boulevard, the famous tree lined �fitness boulevard� in Santa Monica where everyday hundreds of beautiful people jog, skate, and cycle within sight of the Pacific Ocean. It�s all very much like Make-Believe until you live here for awhile. I got third in the sketchy sprint finish, as my teammate nabbed second. Here, after the second sprint the racers have a choice. Turn left and pedal down Ocean Avenue, stop at the Rose Cafe for coffee and then retrace the route back to the Valley.
Or...
turn right, drop to the Pacific Coast Highway and hang on for dear fucking life as the hard men nail your butt to your lungs as they hammer up the coast for 4 miles before spontaneously combusting whoever is left on a knee breaking 10 mile climb up Old Topanga Pass.
i turned right. i simply never learn.
�E� and Gus and some very fit looking guy with a Lotto Domo jersey pulled our group of now 16 remaining racers up the coast into a onshore cross wind at an astonishing 29 mph. Never allowing more than a few inches between my front tire and the rear tire of the racer in front of me, it was all Aerobic Zen as i hung onto my treasured fifth spot in our slender pace line roaring up the coast. The marine layer wrapped about my bike and breath like a wet, lingering whisper.
The dreaded right hand turn came up way too fast. Up and into Topanga Canyon we charged like multicolored Warrior Knights dashing onto a battlefield. The marine layer crumbled into sunshine. The wet whisper of the ocean fog transformed into audible whimpers from the racers as �E��s crushing pace up the climb began to intensify. A few kilometers into the climb an 18% headwall bitch slapped our acidic legs and instilled doubt into our heaving lungs. A strong rider here can motor up this terrain at over 10 mph and sustain it. Most cannot and will �pop� off the back of the leaders to wallow in their own oxygen debt hell. I fell off the pace as �E� kept accelerating up, up and away like some giant frog leaping up the waterfalls of pavement. Damned strong kid.
Pratyahara or �sense withdrawal� is the fifth limb of Patanjali�s Ashtanga Yoga. As my heart rate climbed into the Ozone up this mountain, i applied Pratyahara. I turned my bike into my yoga mat and coerced my ego to settle down. This is not a time to judge my effort harshly, but rather wisely. Embrace the difficulty and deal with it;racing bikes is all yoga. Everything is yoga. It�s easy to let self doubt defeat the undisciplined mind during high end suffering moments like this one. I retreated to a more sustainable pace which for me this morning up that steep climb was about 9.5 mph, fast enough to keep the top five guys in sight, yet slow enough so i did not blow up like the guys behind me.
So much about life, like racing, is about learning the Art of Pacing.
I have been practicing spinning my legs at a high speed for some time. I did so now. I spun my pedals at a cadence of no less than 100 rpm. This preserves precious energy and keeps power in a cellular reservoir for later in the race. Retreating into my breath and pedaling technique, i focused on the most simplest of cycling maneuvers; spine flat, lumbar spine arched, elbows low, shoulders relaxed, and...keep spinning my legs like a runaway bandit.
Within 8 minutes of this climbing meditation, i bridged to fifth place. I accelerated past �Mondo� as fast as i could, thus stabbing a psychological knife into his already bleeding confidence. Hey, it�s a race baby...if you don�t want to race, stay home and wash your damned car. Out here, it�s sweat and self-propelled inner power baby! Pass someone or get passed!
7 minutes later I was feeling the Pran! I felt the luxury of having years of the SUNRIDER herbs produce a light body with a jet engine. i felt a shock of deep hearted gratitude for getting out of bed to do such brave and noble exercise efforts like this one... i churned around a corner...there, glinting in the canyon light fourth place! A carrot dangling in front of me; into my lowest, most aerodynamic body position i dropped, just like in my HP Yoga Sun Salutations. i slammed my chain into a bigger gear...i was like Lance time trialing up Alpe du Huez! (Hey, i can pretend too, you know!).
The canyon pavement seemed a blur beneath my bicycle. I caught Bill, the fourth place straggler...he was Hurtin� with a capital �H�;
�C�mon bro, they ain�t that far ahead,� i wheezed, �get on my wheel, let�s chase �em down!�
Inspired to have someone which with to share my suffering, i recovered a bit as Bill took a short pull. I pulled around him and pressed our pace to over 20 mph uphill, baby! i was ZONED! suddenly, the top three leaders were 800 meters in front of us...
400...
200...
ooooooh, the PAIN!!!!!!
the last few hundred meters of bridging up to leaders are always the most difficult of all...
100...
i came around Bill one final time and plastered my heart rate like spackling on drywall...
we did it!!
We caught the leaders! Psyched! Bravery and Noble Effort sang within me!
Hold the Heralding:
3 more miles and 800� of climbing to go until the summit still remained!
NOT so Psyched!!!
Lactic Acid and cross-eyed fatigue stung within me!
Road Racing Pain Management 101:
Get onto the wheel in front of you and just breathe. Don�t think about the hurt; just breathe. Your spirit will take care of you.
The five of us were now dancing up the final headwalls in tempo when one of those funny things happened; �E� was putting his windbreaker in his jersey pocket when he dropped it.
�Oh, dude! You rookied it!� i heard myself saying aloud to him. That was NOT a wise thing to say to a pro cyclist.
�Fuck!� he said, swerving out of our group to go fetch it.
I looked at Gus. Should we be like Italians and attack �Arrogant E� now that he had goofed?
Gus started to press the throttle...i held his wheel as long as i could. i got gapped then passed by �Lotto Domo.� Fuck! Worse, i knew �E� would be hollerin� piss fire at me for that �Rookie� comment so i was determined not to let him catch me. The summit lingered endlessly ahead like a mirage. i pressed as much vigor into my pedals as i could muster while checking beneath my left armpit to see if �E� was catching me. Yep. There he was charging up the slope less than 300 meters behind me. He was out of his saddle in full on attack mode. 400 meters to go. i shifted into a bigger gear. i could now make out the grimace of �E.� I could see the whites of his eyes...dat�s right Big Boy, you like �dis shit? Bring it on, sucka! You ain�t so bad! 100 meters...i was now stomping on my pedals charging like a bull toward the summit...nearly overtaking second place, i was elated to have taken third at the top. THE PODIUM baby!
Understand something here, Wholistic Fitness Warriors; i train on my bicycle a mere fraction of the time these guys do.
i study the same Path you do: i strength train. i do yoga. i meditate each day. i nourish my body with cruelty free herbs. i do my best to consciously live lightly and kindly upon Mother Earth. i use wide-spectrum fitness as a source of spiritual and personal growth.
here, is what these guys do:
�) eat
�) shit
�) ride bike
�) sleep.
That�s it.
i know from experience. i know pro endurance athletes.
Most do not do yoga. Most do not meditate. Most eat like crap. Most can�t bench press more than a Egg McMuffin, let alone do a Hang Clean or a Pull Up.
Swooping like a falcon into a curve at 38 mph on the descent, morning sunshine illuminated that peculiar joy within me that absolutely relishes the invisible fact: I can still finish with these top cyclists at my age while enjoying an Wholistic Fitness level far beyond the grasp of these predictable, specific specialists.
Wholistic Fitness, baby; ain�t nothing as effective at all around fitness. Get out there today, Noble Warriors! Test your fitness; test the SUNRIDER herbs...test your High Performance Yoga! Test your meditation by doing something that really pushes you...
If it don�t break you...
it�ll make you more than just stronger,
it will make you
a
Warrior Within!
i bow to you...
your feeble coach
October 01, 2004
UNAWAKENED QUOTE FOR THE DAY:
"Vioxx, the blockbuster arthritis drug heavily promoted on TV and taken by tens of millions of people, was pulled from the market by its maker Thursday after a study found that it doubled the risk of heart attacks and strokes."
- Associated Press
uhh...
how about regular exercise (including yoga) and whole foods as an alternative to all these damned drugs that sound like planets in some far off solar system?
Wholistic Fitness + Sunrider Herbs = the best option for fitness of body, mind and spirit on THIS planet!
���
WALKING IN THE MASTER'S FOOTPRINTS
Some long time WF Students who have experienced the profound body/mind transformation under Coach Ilg like Claudia of Chicago, IL shown above, closely watch and use Coach's personal training statistics (see below) for both inspiration and education of a Master of Body/Mind/Spirit Fitness who walks his talk like very few present day coaches. photo/Ananda
Coach Ilg's Training Stats for Sept:
� Strength Training = 5 sessions for 3.75 hours (average per week; 1.25x for 45 minutes)
� Cardio Training = 30x for 50.50 hours (average per week; 7x for 12.50 hours or 1 hour 50 minutes per day)
� Yoga (asana only) = 38.75 hours (averages about 10 hours/week)
� Meditation (includes pranayams) = 15.25 hours (averages just over 30 minutes per day)
� Nutrition: 51.50k kcals (averages about 1,700 calories per day - consistency on SUNRIDER herbs; 100%)
�b) Bodyfat percentage: 2.5% (up one tenth of a percent from last month - damn that authentic Chicago pizza!)
****{Note; Coach Ilg is a highly trained professional in Wholistic Fitness and Hatha Yoga...
DO NOT try to mimic these training volumes or his extremely low caloric intake unless you are a seasoned athlete, Sunrider herb consumer, and a Wholistic Fitness warrior with a strong pranayama personal Practice! These stats serve as inspiration for seasoned hatha yogis and Coach's veteran students of WF. His remarkable consistency and intradisciplinary degree of Practice since a child are given for certain WF devotees who are mapping Coach's unique and uncharted Path toward Enlightenment.}
Last Months (August) Stats for Coach Ilg:
Strength Training = 6 sessions
Cardio Training = 32.25 hours
Yoga (asana only) = 39.75 hours
Meditation (includes pranayams) = 15.25 hours*
Nutrition: 42.25k kcals
Bodyfat percentage: 2.4%
* precisely the same as prior month